“Today’s jobs numbers offer even more proof that the Fed officials insisting on raising interest rates at the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting are refusing to look at reality. The latest numbers confirm what we have already known: labor slack persists, inflation is not a threat, and an interest rate hike would be premature, with devastating effects on working people, particularly communities of color.

“Wage growth has been flat for the last 5 years and the latest numbers do not show signs of significant acceleration. Furthermore, the employment to population ratio remains well below its pre-recession levels. These indicators of labor slack are – yet again – coupled with no evidence pointing to a threat of inflation. The data just does not support a rate increase. The data just does not support a rate increase. If the Fed wants to maintain credibility as a data-driven institution, it cannot not increase rates.

“Many Fed members have hinted at an imminent interest rate liftoff in September, but these numbers show that a rate increase should – at the very least – be off the table for the remainder of 2015. A premature interest rate hike would sacrifice potentially millions of jobs and hundreds of millions in wages – disproportionately lost by people of color. The latest jobs numbers show just how inadvisable – and damaging – a September rate hike would be.”

Rod Adams, a member of the community-based organization Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change (MNNOC), and a member of the Fed Up Campaign added:

“I worked my way through college, sometimes working the closing shift at Chipotle until 2 am and coming back to open at 6 am. I worked hard, studied hard, and gave up sleep so I could get a better job. This spring, I graduated with my associate's in business management, but I’ve been looking for a job since April. I still can’t find anything to match my skills.

“It’s not only me. My friends with four-year degrees can only find jobs at McDonald’s or Taco Bell. I didn’t go to college so I could make $10.10 working fast food. I have a daughter. I can't support myself and my daughter working at one of these places. I’m worth more than $10.10. The Fed needs to listen to what real people have to say. We are not just data on spreadsheets. We are real people with real bills. If the Fed raises the interest rates, what’s going to happen to my wages?”

To schedule interviews with Connie Razza, send an email topress@populardemocracy.org.

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The Center for Popular Democracy promotes equity, opportunity, and a dynamic democracy in partnership with innovative base-building organizations, organizing networks and alliances, and progressive unions across the country. CPD builds the strength and capacity of democratic organizations to envision and advance a pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial justice agenda.